pictures of bottles in YOUR books

[PassionateWriter]

do you "modify" the books or toys? (kid books)

[ChetMC]

We Don't Modify

We haven't modified any books or toys. If I'm really bothered by something we don't buy it, or if it was a gift, it disappears.

I was annoyed when older DD suggested that we would need to get bottles for our new baby. I assumed that this idea had come from stuff she had seen on TV at grandma's house, and the response I gave her was probably a little more strongly worded than what I would have opted for had I known she was going to reiterate directly to my bottle-feeding SIL.

Nevertheless, it's a fact that some babies get bottles, and I'm okay with the kids knowing that. We have a couple books with nursing babies, and they'll see their sibling nursing, and know why we didn't need to buy bottles or anything to put in the bottles.

In general, my philosophy is to talk about issues and choices rather than to avoid topics.

[Sugermama]

No, because while my youngest is breast fed my oldest was only breast fed for 6 weeks. I don't want my kids to feel one is getting special treatment over the other because of it. They know that some kids get milk from the breast and others get milk from a bottle.

[lanamommyphd07]

noooooooo

[shanti1]

no. I wouldn't even think to do that. I also don't edit toys. My kids' babies bf and bottle feed.

[tsume]

Originally Posted by ChetMC

We haven't modified any books or toys. If I'm really bothered by something we don't buy it, or if it was a gift, it disappears.

I was annoyed when older DD suggested that we would need to get bottles for our new baby. . . .

Same here. And when we were pregnant with our third (a Penelope!) I was miffed when my older 2 were insistant that we needed to buy bottles so the baby could eat. My sil was pregnant with her third at the same time and they had bottles.

Which is where I guess they got that from. Even though my middle who was the most insistant was still an avid nurser. Maybe he didn't want to share? lol

[Vancouver Mommy]

yeah, when dd gets a doll from grandparents that includes bottles, I always chuck them.

[mntnmom]

I generally avoid the sorts of toys that would have a bottle included. But my kids know what bottles are. DD(4.5 at the time) was very confused as to "why is that lady putting powder in the bottle, it's for mommy milk?"
And my 18mnth old thinks they're fun little toys, like a pacifier.
Other families do things differently.

[Vanessa]

Since I have boys and the majority of our play items and books are dinosaur or train related, this hasn't been much of an issue at our house. They have both nursed their dinos at some point, and my ds who's 4 has asked me why babies are drinking out of bottles in public instead of drinking from their mommy's "milks".

I probably would toss a bottle that came with a doll in the future, though.

[mommykood]

We choose to only buy and keep (if gifts) products, toys, books, etc, that go along with our family values. "Bottle feeding" is not something our familly values or appreciates, therefore, we don't have anything of that nature in our home.

[SevenVeils]

Originally Posted by mommykood

We choose to only buy and keep (if gifts) products, toys, books, etc, that go along with our family values. "Bottle feeding" is not something our familly values or appreciates, therefore, we don't have anything of that nature in our home.

:

I honestly don't think I've ever had a toy or book with a bottle in it/with it, but if for some reason I discovered a bottle in a book I would edit it or chuck it out.

[PassionateWriter]

we have a few books..one is "wheels on the bus"..teh crying baby is given a bottle on the bus...

there is another book that i absolutely love..its set in England during the 40's..the art is great...its a peek a boo book...it also has a bottle in it.

we also have some soft blocks (they are neat to play with and throw around). they have doors that open w/ little flaps, etc. etc. One of them has a baby w/ a bottle on it (inside a door).

those are the only 3 things i think we have that have bottles depicted. We do have dolls but dont buy dolls w/ bottles b/c well...we dont buy the "regular" dolls i guess.

[wonderwahine]

no, I don't believe in censoring my childrens reading material, and breastfed babies drink from bottles as well.

[moderngal]

nope. I'm a WOHM and my son never had formula, but did have bottles.

[lerlerler]

NO editing here. (mostly)

But I will admit to being more prone to BUYING books with nursing Moms in them.

Oh, well I must admit that the bottle for the dollies in my daughter's CO-OP preschool is somehow buried fairly deep in the box.. and when I work, I happily nurse any dollie that is hungry

[sweetpeppers]

nope, I think it's silly. why should all books do exactly what your family does? people bottlefeed their children. you don't, and that's what is most important to your child. you can explain that you don't agree with the book, but that it's okay to read things that you don't agree with, because you can always get something out of it.

[sainteanne1]

I take the first ammendment very seriously and would never in any way edit a book for any reason, unless it had something to do with something like murder or mayhem that might child might find scary. Then, I would save it for later. I read The Shining at age 10. hee hee

Anyway, people use bottles and it does not hurt my child in any way to know that. She was nursed for 3 years and she sees her baby sister nursed.

[zoedeansmom]

I did modify (at least verbally) some stories for DD1 when I was pregnant with DD2 and reading lots of stories about families with new babies. Since I was trying to relate the stories to our family I wanted the stories to reflect the way our family would act with a new baby and that includes EBF. Ava does get bottles of expressed milk sometimes so, when books showed a Daddy feeding a baby, I would say something about it being milk from Mommy. I agree that not all books/toys need to depict life exactly as my family sees things because the way our family actually is will be a far greater influence on our children than books and toys. BUT, I did find it frustrating that the vast majority of books seem to depict bottle feeding only, even books about families with newborns.

[SevenVeils]

Originally Posted by sweetpeppers

nope, I think it's silly. why should all books do exactly what your family does? people bottlefeed their children. you don't, and that's what is most important to your child. you can explain that you don't agree with the book, but that it's okay to read things that you don't agree with, because you can always get something out of it.

I am on baby 5 and have never owned a bottle or pacifier. It is important to me that my children grow up without seeing bottles as the norm.

FF has its place- as what it was invented for, which is an emergency ration if a mother is dead or something equally infrequent, and where there is also no nursing mother available to provide milk or to nurse the child. Not as a viable option for regular infant feeding. It is important to me that my children understand this.

Likewise, expressed breastmilk in a bottle has its place. But it isn't the way that babies are meant to be fed.

These are my opinions. I know that they are strong and unpopular, but I thought that this was Lactivism... I wouldn't expect to see an argument that circ is not that bad in CAC. Maybe I'm naive.

[kaylee18]

Originally Posted by skyastara

These are my opinions. I know that they are strong and unpopular, but I thought that this was Lactivism... I wouldn't expect to see an argument that circ is not that bad in CAC. Maybe I'm naive.

I do think there's a reason this forum is not called "The Case Against Bottlefeeding." Circumcision is just plain wrong. Bottlefeeding can be the right thing to do.

Yes, nursing should be seen as the norm, but there's a bottle (held by a dad) in Everywhere Babies, next to the nursing mom, in the section on how babies are fed. There are other great books that involve bottles tangentially as well. I'm not willing to "edit" books and I'm not willing to avoid great books just because they have a bottle in them, so we're not avoiding them entirely.

OTOH, I would not own a book about (focused on) bottlefeeding, while I would love to own books about breastfeeding. I'd also like to see everyday illustrations of alternative feeding methods (fingerfeeder, oral syringe, shotglass, Haberman, Lact-aid, g-button) for infants, including special-needs infants, instead of just bottle and (rarely) breast with typical-need babies.